Kelly Adams is a twice-over graduate of the University of Southern California where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in music industry and a Master of Arts degree in music education. In 2013, she attended the Kodály Association of Southern California (KASC) Summer Institute where she fell in love with Kodály’s revolutionary methods and ideology, eventually receiving her certification under Dr. Kathy Hickey and Dr. Niké St. Clair in 2016.

Now Kelly serves as Past President on the KASC board, and currently teaches Level I Pedagogy during KASC’s Summer Institute at Azusa Pacific University. She continues to build Kodály-based curricula for the National Children’s Chorus as its Principal Associate Conductor and recently conducted students from schools across Los Angeles in the 2023 KASC Honor Chorus Festival.

Kelly is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Teaching and Learning at the University of Southern California. When she’s not teaching or conducting, Kelly performs, writes and records with the band Karmina (search Queens of Heart to hear Karmina’s latest album) and sings in feature films (How to Train Your Dragon, Wonder, Pan, The Lorax, Promising Young Woman). Kelly is thrilled to conduct her daughter Rudi in Minuet at the National Children’s Chorus.

Krystin Cowan holds a Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Redlands, Kodály Certification from the Kodály Association of Southern California (KASC), Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of California, Riverside, and a single subject teaching credential in music. 
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Ms. Cowan is an active music educator and has been teaching music in K-12 public schools and community colleges since 2011 with extensive experience teaching beginning instrumental musicians, older beginners, and elementary classroom music. She currently serves as an elementary music specialist and beginning string orchestra teacher for Riverside Unified School District, Curriculum Specialist for the Riverside Arts Academy, and is Associate Faculty at Riverside City College. As a bassist, Ms. Cowan maintains an active performance schedule in the Southern California area. 

Réka Csernyik is one of Australia's foremost experts in choral conducting, choral conducting pedagogy and aural musicianship.

Born in Hungary, Réka earned master’s degrees in Music Education, Choral Conducting and Church Music from the world-renowned Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest. She has taught music at every level of education – with wide experience in primary and secondary schools as well as at university level. Réka held the position of Co-ordinator of Choral Conducting and Lecturer of Aural Musicianship at The University of Queensland from 2004 to 2010. In recognition of the program, she received the Award for Teaching Excellence. 
Réka was founder and director of Sola Voce Chamber Choir. Under Réka's directorship the choir has toured extensively and won numerous national and international awards. In recognition of her musical leadership skills, Réka was also awarded ”The Best Conductor” prize at an international choral competition.
In 2015, Réka commenced her role of Co-ordinator of Kodály Pedagogy at the Conservatorium High School, Sydney where she designed a Classroom Music program as well as re-organised the Choral Program of the school, gaining recognition of her choirs Australia-wide.

Réka has regular engagements as a guest lecturer, adjudicator, and workshop facilitator all over the world. Réka has presented papers at various national and international conferences on Australian and Hungarian choral repertoire as well as Kodály-inspired music education.

Miriam B. Factora, Ph.D., was born and raised in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Educated
within a colonial system, she has developed a strong interest in fieldwork research to discover
pedagogical materials that better reflect student cultures. This led her on a groundbreaking and innovative journey to revitalize the indigenous and local culture - essentially giving back what is uniquely Filipino. Her quest to ‘decolonize’ the music education program in the Philippines has led to the  publication of numerous folksong collections.
 
Dr. Factora is a fervent advocate for cultural relevance in education. As an esteemed music educator, international speaker, and clinician, she has shared this passion through keynote speeches, workshops, paper presentations, and training sessions for university students and teachers in different parts of the world.
 
Currently, Miriam is serving as one of the Board of Directors of the International Kodály Society
and is a co-chair of the International Kodály Society Lászlo Vikar Folk Music Research Forum. She has been a consultant for the Kodály Society of the Philippines for so many years. She retired from the California Public School System due to her decision to make a major move to Washington State to focus on research and writing.

Laura Keverian Pitts, a dedicated music educator and choral director from Southern California, has extensive training in the Kodály Method, having studied under Dr. Kathy Hickey, Dr. Niké St. Clair, László Cser, Marjorie Lowe, Diane Geller, and Pamela Wade.  She currently teaches classes in aural theory, sight-singing, and ear-training based on the Kodály approach, along with music education courses at Azusa Pacific University and Cal Poly Pomona. Additionally, Laura serves as an Associate Conductor for the National Children’s Chorus, for both the Los Angeles and USA (virtual) Chapters, as well as a Kodály Musicianship Instructor for NCC.  With a wealth of experience in choral conducting and general music education, Laura has taught in both private and public schools, where her choirs consistently received superior rankings at festivals.  Her passion for choral conducting led her to study with renowned experts in the field of youth choral music, including Dr. Doreen Rao, Dr. Janet Galvan, and Mr. Henry Leck.  She earned a Master’s degree in Music, specializing in choral conducting, under the guidance of her mentor, Donald Brinegar.

 
Laura’s work as a choral director has earned her numerous invitations to guest conduct, adjudicate, and present at conferences, particularly with the Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).  Notably, in 2007, she was the guest conductor for the 20th annual KASC Invitational Choral Festival.  Her most recent classroom music teaching position brought her back to her hometown, where she taught music literacy at Don Benito Fundamental School in the Pasadena Unified School District.  There, she founded the Bobcat Choir, which performed as the Ragazzi Chorus in Carmina Burana with Pasadena City College choirs and orchestra and participated in the ACDA Western Division Conference. During the conference, Laura led two interest sessions on nurturing beginning choirs, demonstrating how the Kodály method fosters strong music reading skillsin the choral setting.  A lifelong singer, Laura has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and is a founding member of the Donald Brinegar Singers.  She is eagerly looking forward to returning to teach at the KASC Summer Certification Program this year.